Metallica star Lars Ulrich reportedly celebrated his impending nuptials by partying with pals in San Francisco, California over the weekend (28Feb15-01Mar15). The drummer proposed to model Jessica Miller in 2013, and two years later, the couple is finally preparing to tie the knot.
According to People magazine, Ulrich invited his close male friends, including Bradley Cooper, Sir Ian McKellen and Metallica frontman James Hetfield, out for dinner and bowling on Saturday (28Feb15).
An insider tells the publication they had their own private room in bowling alley Lucky Strike, where "Bradley was the top bowler."
Ulrich and his friends later went to a nearby restaurant for a celebratory dinner.
The upcoming nuptials will mark the third marriage for the rocker and the first for Miller. He has four sons from past relationships.

Model/actress Jaime King is pregnant with her second child.
The Hart of Dixie star and her director husband Kyle Newman are preparing to welcome a sibling for 16-month-old son James-Knight.
King took to Instagram.com on Thursday (19Feb15) to reveal the exciting news, posting a photo of her son next to a sign which reads, 'I'm gonna be a big brother! Who da boss now? I'm SO excited!!!' King added the caption, "So excited to announce THE SEQUEL coming later this year!... #BabyTown2 - Created by Kyle Newman and Jaime King. Also starring James-Knight."
The 35 year old has previously revealed her struggle to become a mother, after suffering from conditions including Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, which left her struggling to have a baby for nearly five years. King went through five miscarriages and five rounds of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) before she became pregnant with her son. King and Newman wed in 2007.
So excited to announce THE SEQUEL Coming later this year!! ... #BabyTown2 - Created by @kyle_newman and @jaime_king. Also starring #JamesKnight
A photo posted by Jaime King (@jaime_king) on Feb 19, 2015 at 11:34am PST

Actors Emma Roberts and Dave Franco have been cast to star in the big screen adaptation of young adult novel Nerve. The American Horror Story star will portray an innocent girl who breaks out of her shell by playing an online game of truth-or-dare called Nerve, with a sexy and mysterious man, played by Franco.
In the thriller based on the popular book by Jeanne Ryan, the game's stakes grow increasingly higher as she finds herself in life-threatening situations.
American Horror Story executive producer Jessica Sharzer penned the screenplay, while filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who directed hit online dating documentary Catfish, will direct the project.
It will mark the third time Roberts has co-starred with a Franco - she starred alongside Dave's older brother James in his film Palo Alto, as well as new gay rights drama I Am Michael, which debuts at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday (29Jan15).

Were you paying attention to the big screen and all the Hollywood happenings in 2014? We thought we'd kick off the New Year with a quick look back over the last 12 months of WENN movie news and pose a few questions to one and all that might just help you recall some magical moments at the cinema, or some hot gossip from the year just gone.
The prize for the winner? Bragging rights and a front row seat to the 2015 Oscars in your own living room! Best of luck!
1. The Fault in Our Stars was based on a book written by which author?
a. John Green
b. John White
c. James Green
d. James Brown
2. What song did not feature on the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy?
a. I'm Not in Love
b. Mama Told Me Not to Come
c. Spirit in the Sky
d. Hooked on a Feeling
3. From which hit animated movie did the catchy tune Everything is Awesome come?
a. Muppets Most Wanted
b. The Lego Movie
c. How to Train Your Dragon 2
d. Mr Peabody and Sherman
4. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington starred in which epic disaster film based on true events?
a. Godzilla
b. 300: Rise of an Empire
c. Hercules
d. Pompeii
5. The son of which longtime Hollywood couple starred alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 22 Jump Street?
a. Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
b. Oliver Hudson, son of Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn
c. Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
d. Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn
6. Which of the following was not a cast member in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?
a. Andy Serkis
b. James Franco
c. Jason Clarke
d. Gary Oldman
7. Get On Up was a biopic based on the life of which legendary musician?
a. James Brown
b. Stevie Wonder
c. George Clinton
d. Smokey Robinson
8. Which Hollywood veteran portrayed the family matriarch in This Is Where I Leave You?
a. Anjelica Huston
b. Jane Fonda
c. Bette Midler
d. Dame Judi Dench
9. Which musical did The Amazing Spider-Man star Emma Stone make her Broadway debut in?
a. Chicago
b. Cabaret
c. Wicked
d. Les Miserables
10. Which one of these celebrities was NOT part of Ellen DeGeneres' famous 'selfie' taken during the 2014 Academy Awards?
a. Channing Tatum
b. Kevin Spacey
c. Matthew McConaughey
d. Jared Leto
11. Which actress celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary to her tennis pro husband on New Year's Eve?
a. Ashley Tisdale
b. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting
c. Naya Rivera
d. Ginnifer Goodwin
12. Who will play the villain in the next James Bond movie?
a. Quentin Tarantino
b. Mark Strong
c. Christoph Waltz
d. Bryan Cranston
13. Which country do the two actors who played Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma come from?
a. England
b. France
c. Canada
d. America
14. Who rang in 2014 with Charlize Theron and has since become her boyfriend?
a. Sean Penn
b. Chris Pratt
c. Mark Wahlberg
d. Joaquin Phoenix
15. Name new mum Scarlett Johansson's daughter.
a. Kate
b. Jane
c. Apple
d. Rose
16. Which famous Jessica played Matthew McConaughey's grown-up daughter in Interstellar?
a. Jessica Alba
b. Jessica Biel
c. Jessica Chastain
d. Jessica Lange
17. Which Brit picked up the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his portrayal of grumpy artist J.W. Turner?
a. Colin Firth
b. Timothy Spall
c. Ray Winstone
d. Alan Rickman
18. What was the highest grossing movie of 2014?
a. Transformers: Age of Extinction
b. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
c. Guardians of the Galaxy
d. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
19. Which awards season favourite was filmed over 12 years?
a. Boyhood
b. Birdman
c. Foxcatcher
d. Selma
20. In what film did Jennifer Lawrence debut her singing voice, scoring a chart hit all around the world?
a. Silver Linings Playbook
b. American Hustle
c. X-Men: Days of Future Past
d. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
21. What is the bestselling music soundtrack on iTunes this year?
a. Frozen
b. Annie
c. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
d. Guardians of the Galaxy
22. He ended 2014 a newlywed with a hit movie, called The Theory of Everything. Name the British actor who married fiancee Hannah Bagshawe in England on 15 December.
a. Benedict Cumberbatch
b. Timothy Spall
c. Eddie Redmayne
d. Colin Firth
23. Why did model-turned-actress Milla Jovovich announce she was putting the next film in her Resident Evil franchise on hold in August?
a. Script problems
b. Financial issues
c. Her director husband Paul W.S. Anderson had abandoned the movie
d. She was pregnant
24. In 2014, this actor played Moses and became a new dad. Name him.
a. Joel Edgerton
b. Chris Pratt
c. Christian Bale
d. Mark Wahlberg
25. Another new dad, Chris Hemsworth, was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2014, but who's the lucky actress, the mother of his kids, who gets to cuddle up to him every night?
a. Eva Mendes
b. Elsa Pataky
c. Scarlett Johansson
d. Jessica Alba
ANSWERS:
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. d
5. d
6. b
7. a
8. b
9. b
10. c
11. b
12. c
13. a
14. a
15. d
16. c
17. b
18. a
19. a
20. d
21. a
22. c
23. d
24. c
25. b

As obsessive readers and fans of dismissing quality movies as inferior to their literary counterparts, it's important for us to know which books will head to the big screen ahead of time. How else will we know how Wild Reese will be, or what is going to happen to Peeta? Be reasonable. We've decided to use our research for the good of society and share the adaptations coming soon that we are most excited for.
1. The Spook's Apprentice - Joseph Delaney (Seventh Son)
Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes) is the seventh son of the seventh son, which gives him the ability to see things that others cannot: ghosts, ghasts, boggarts, and the like. He becomes an apprentice to John Gregory, the Spook (Jeff Bridges). Julianne Moore is set to play Mother Malkin, one of the most sinister witches who uses blood magic, luring young runaway women into care before sucking their blood to maintain her youth, who was then imprisoned by the Spook. Kit Harington and Djimon Hounsou also star.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, in case you somehow didn't know, are stepping into the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey for the adaptation of the incredibly successful erotic novel. Steele, a literature student, interviews Grey as a favor to her roommate, but quickly becomes entranced by this brilliant and handsome man who is unable to resist her. He admits his desire, but on his own terms; this is a man with a need to control everything. This is also probably going to be the movie with a bunch of heavy-breathing sweaty middle-aged women trying to control themselves in the theater. You've been warned.
3. In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
The last time Ron Howard and Chris Hemsworth teamed up, they brought us one of the best films of 2013, Rush. Now, they're at it again (along with Cillian Murphy and Benjamin Walker) with this story of a whaleship attacked by one angry whale, leaving the crew shipwrecked and stranded for 90 days, thousands of miles from land. The true story inspired a little book by Herman Melville (played in the movie by our favorite, Ben Whishaw) entitled Moby-Dick.
4. The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith (Carol)
W. W. Norton &amp; Company
Patricia Highsmith, author of successful novels-turned-movies like Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley (we're choosing to ignore the recent The Two Faces of January here), wrote The Price of Salt, which will be released as 'Carol.' The novel itself, controversial for its lesbian content and unprecedented gay happy ending, is said to have inspired Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Sarah Paulson, with Far From Heaven and I'm Not There director Todd Haynes helming.
5. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Shaye Areheart Books
Gone Girl author brings us yet another chilling thriller. A young girl is the sole survivor of a massacre that leaves both of her sisters and her mother dead in an apparent Satanic cult ritual. She testifies against her brother, but 25 years later, she begins to investigate the actual events. Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, and Christina Hendricks star.
6. A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
HarperCollins Publishers
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants director Ken Kwapis is set to direct Bryson's memoir, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. The hilarious book describes Bryson's attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz. Emma Thompson and Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman will also star.
7. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
As conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows, a war looms for Divergent's post-apocalyptic Chicago. In this sequel, we're still following Shailene Woodley and Theo James' Tris and Four as they try to understand the reasons for Erudite's insurrection and obtain information the Abnegation are trying to protect. Kate Winslet, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, and Miles Teller return in their supporting roles, and are joined by some all-star names: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, and Suki Waterhouse.
8. Serena - Ron Rash
The dynamic duo of mega-nominated movies Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle are back at it! Bradley Cooper plays a man trying to maintain his timber empire during the Depression, while Jennifer Lawrence plays his wife who discovers she can't have children. For some reason, we're a little terrified of JLaw in this movie from the trailer.
9. Silence - Shusako Endo
Taplinger Publishing Company
This 1966 novel about a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan where he endures persecution is set to be adapted by Martin Scorsese. It will also have an all star cast of Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, and Adam Driver.
10. The Longest Ride - Nicholas Sparks
The producers of The Fault in Our Stars, the author of The Notebook, and the hottest Hollywood son around, this movie already has us in love with it. Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson play two lovers and there's a rodeo or something; we don't really know, we were just thinking about how much this movie will make us cry. Time to read the book.
11. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Hunt director Thomas Vinterberg tackles Thomas Hardy's novel. Carey Mulligan stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a woman who has too many men in love with her and of course rejects them all until she falls for one. Three men, played by Michael Sheen, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone), and Tom Sturridge (On The Road), all after this woman: who will she end up with? We actually just read the plot description and had everything spoiled and somehow still gasped and cried at those three paragraphs. Why didn't we know about this book before?!
12. Paper Towns - John Green
Dutton Books
The Fault in Our Stars author John Green's next book to be adapted by the same team who adapted TFIOS (Scott Neustadter &amp; Michael H. Weber). Margo and her adventures are legendary at her high school, and Quentin ("Q") has always loved her for it. Margo climbs through his window and demands he take an all night road trip of revenge, but when she goes missing the next day, Q realizes she's left clues for him and promptly hits the road again in search of her. Cara Delevingne will play Margo and TFIOS' Nat Wolff will play Q.
13. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge - Michael Punke
Carroll &amp; Graf Publishers
Academy Award-nominated Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, 21 Grams, Biutiful) is set to direct Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in this adaptation. Partially based on the life of fur trapper Hugh Glass. Leo will play Glass, who is mauled by a bear, then later robbed and left for dead by his companions. He survives and sets out for revenge against those same men.
14. The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
Faber and Faber
A one-hundred-year-old woman, Roseanne McNulty, in a mental hospital for about 50 years decides to retrace her history. As the hospital faces demolition and he must choose which of his patients should be transferred and which should rejoin the community, Dr. Grene also tries to discover her history. What they find is very different, though there are some consistencies. Vanessa Redgrave and Rooney Mara will play Roseanne McNulty, Eric Bana will play Grene, with Theo James also starring.
15. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Penguin Classics
An oft-adapted novel, Mary Shelley's classic is to be turned into yet another film, this time directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push). The updated version, titled Victor Frankenstein, will be told from the perspective of the doctor's assistant, Igor. The film will explain how the doctor became the man who created the legendary monster. Daniel Radcliffe will play Igor and James McAvoy will play Victor Frankenstein.
16. The Martian - Andy Weir
Crown Publishing Group
Described as Cast Away meets Apollo 13, the novel follows an astronaut stranded on Mars, fighting to survive (which also sounds mildly like Gravity to us, no?). Ridley Scott is set to direct a pretty stellar (no pun intended) cast here: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. This sounds like a great movie already, but we'll have to wait until November to see it.
17. The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
Macmillan Publishers
Walt Disney Pictures is working on this live-action/CGI mash-up of the classic book, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef), with a mind-bogglingly incredible cast. Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito will provide voices, while newcomer Neel Sethi will play Mowgli.

The Oscars are supposed to be a barometer for greatness in the movie industry, but sometimes the Academy just misses the mark. Think about it: Three Six Mafia has an Oscar, but Leonardo DiCaprio does not. Snubs inevitably happen every year and some are more egregious than others. As we prepare for the next batch of nominations, let us reflect on some of the biggest snubs that still have us scratching our heads.
1. Leonardo DiCaptio in The Departed
GIPHY
Leo has been nominated a lot, we know this, but he was at his best in this Martin Scorsese flick. It still pains us that this wasn’t his year.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road
GIPHY
We thought Leo/Kate Winslet reunion would equal Oscar magic. But alas, it was not to be.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can
GIPHY
We still love this movie and think he was fantastic as con man Frank Abagnale Jr. Technically he played more than character, as Frank faked his way into becoming an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator
GIPHY
Last Leo one, we promise. But man did he do a good job playing Howard Hughes’ descent into madness.
5. Brokeback Mountain
GIPHY
With the exception of Ang Lee winning for Best Director, Brokeback Mountain got completely shut out of the Oscars. Crash beat it for Best Picture in an upset, and Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams all inexplicably lost in their categories despite delivering amazing performances.
6. Alfred Hitchcock
GIPHY
Can you believe the Master of Suspense never won an Oscar for directing? Despite all of his directing techniques that are now famous, poor Hitch never got Oscar recognition. Couldn’t they have at least given him the Best Cameos in All His Films award?
7. James Dean
GIPHY
We expect that if James Dean had lived longer than his young 24 years, he would have taken home Oscar gold. But the impressive trifecta of films he made during his much-too-short career (A Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant) are enough to make us sad he never won.
8. Saving Private Ryan
GIPHY
This Steven Spielberg wartime epic starring Tom Hanks was beat out for Best Picture by Shakespeare in Love. Rumblings have indicated power producer Harvey Weinstein’s purse strings – rather than the film’s merit - are what actually got Shakespeare the gold.
9. Marilyn Monroe
GIPHY
The iconic bombshell never got to make a breathy Oscar acceptance speech. She was probably most deserving for her part in Some Like It Hot, but it just wasn't in the cards.
10. Amy Adams
GIPHY
Doesn’t it seem like she gets nominated every year? She’s like the female Leonardo DiCaprio at this point. She was great in The Fighter and she was our favorite part of American Hustle last year. Such a shame.
11. Robert Redford
GIPHY
Redford, aka the Brad Pitt before Brad Pitt, has never won an Oscar for acting. He nabbed one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People and got a Lifetime Achievement award in 2002, but the founder of the Sundance Film Festival was never acknowledged for the talent that made him famous.
12. Paul Newman for The Hustler
GIPHY
It took Paul Newman way too long to claim his Oscar glory. He was notoriously snubbed all throughout his prime years – most notably for The Hustler in 1962. The Academy finally gave him an honorary award in 1986 and then a Best Actor Oscar in 1987 for his role in the subpar sequel to The Hustler - The Color of Money.
13. Citizen Kane
GIPHY
This film has been number one on so many AFI Greatest Movies of All Time lists that we kind of just assumed it had won the Oscar for Best Picture. Not so. The Orson Welles masterpiece was beat out by How Green Was My Valley, a movie about a Welsh mining village.
14. Michael Fassbender in Shame
GIPHY
When you put aside the jokes about "best performance by a penis in a movie," you’ll realize that Fassbender actually turns in an Oscar-worthy performance in Shame (clothed or unclothed). We’ll give him time though – we think a statuette is in his future.
15. Ewan McGregor
GIPHY
Ewan (or as we like to call him: every straight man’s mancrush) has turned in some brilliant work over the years – like his roles in Beginners and The Impossible. But sadly it seems it wasn’t enough to catch the Academy’s attention.
16. Johnny Depp
GIPHY
Johnny Depp does not have an Oscar. We repeat: Johnny Depp does not have an Oscar. How can the guy who played iconic characters in Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Finding Neverland be lacking a trophy, you ask? It’s a mystery for the ages.
17. Jessica Chastain
GIPHY
Remember when Jessica Chastain had like a million movies come out in 2011? In luckier years, we think at least ONE of those would have gotten her a win. Maybe 2015 will be her year.
18. Keira Knightley in Pride &amp; Prejudice
GIPHY
Reese Witherspoon beat her out that year for Walk the Line, but Keira would have had our vote for her pitch perfect portrayal of Jane Austen heroine Elizabeth Bennett.
19. Atonement
GIPHY
Talk about a beautifully made film. It even won the Golden Globe for Best Drama that year, which is usually a sign that an Oscar imminent. Nope. No Country for Old Men took it instead. Guess nothing beats a Coen Brothers film with an ambiguous ending.
20. Short Term 12
cyberqueer.tumblr.com
If you've seen this gem of an indie movie starring a riveting Brie Larson, you'll understand why this was a major snub. It was one of the best movies of 2013, but presumably because it was so small, it didn't get any awards love. Travesty.
21. Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Smashed
beatrixkiddos.tumblr.com
Another small movie, but a huge Oscar-worthy performance by Winstead as a young wife coming to terms with sobriety. Or at least worthy of a nomination. Pay better attention, Academy!
Who do YOU think has been snubbed? Tell us on Twitter by following the links below!
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James Mcavoy initially turned down the role of a grieving dad in new drama The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby because he had just become a new parent. The 35-year-old actor, who is father to four-year-old son Brendan, felt he couldn't play Connor Ludlow in Ned Benson's film when he was offered the part in 2010, because he was too busy being a new dad.
He explains, "He (son) had literally just been born a couple of days before and I was like, 'I'm not touching this film', because a lot of it was about parental loss."
But Benson, who also wrote the screenplay, was happy to wait for his leading man: "James was my first choice to play this role. When I went to him at first, he'd just had his son so the subject matter was a little uncomfortable for him, but then I had scheduling issues with another actor and I went back to him. When he said yes, that was like a dream come true for me."
The film, which also stars Jessica Chastain, has become an early Best Film Oscar candidate.

Jessica Chastain felt more than comfortable working with writer/director Ned Benson on their new movie The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby, because the filmmaker is her ex-boyfriend. The famously private Zero Dark Thirty star reveals she remained friends with Benson long after their romantic relationship ended, and once she found fame with her breakthrough role in 2011's The Help, she wanted to do what she could to get his feature film debut to the big screen.
Chastain also helped her close pal, Teeth actress Jess Weixler, land a role in the film, too.
She explains, "I really believe in him and I met him because I won tickets to the Malibu Film Festival... and I saw a short film he did; I thought he was so talented.
"We became friends for four years, then we started a relationship and he'd written this film. The relationship ended, but I don't believe that love ends; I think it just kind of transforms, but never goes away, so, to be able to shine the spotlight that was on me, and say, 'Look at my friends', because also my best friend Jess Weixler plays my sister in the movie, and just to say, like, 'How incredible are these people?', it was a very emotional experience to make it."
Chastain's star power also attracted the likes of James McAvoy, Viola Davis and William Hurt to sign up for the drama, about a young couple whose marriage is rocked by a life-changing event.

Splash News
Jessica Brown Findlay's ex-boyfriend has spoken out to condemn the hackers who stole saucy pictures of the actress and leaked them online.
The Downton Abbey star was among the female celebrities caught up in the Hollywood hacking scandal when Internet criminals broke into cloud storage devices and stole hundreds of personal files. Findlay was featured in a number of explicit pictures and a video, and her former partner Thomas Campbell, who dated the star for two years, admits he felt shocked and outraged by the leak.
He tells Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, "It was a huge invasion of privacy, I feel really sorry for her. The video was nothing to do with me. I haven't even seen it. But I do hope that anybody who sees it understands that grown adults do stuff for them that they don't expect the world to see."
Campbell and Findlay dated after meeting at art school in London.

Michael Keaton, Timothy Spall and Eddie Redmayne have emerged as early favourites for the coveted Best Actor prize at next year's (15) Oscars. As movie critics sharpen their pencils to vote for the year's top film performances, it seems the 2015 Best Actor race will be one of the most fiercely fought.
Spall has been the top man since he won gold at Cannes for his lead role in biopic Mr. Turner, but now the Los Angeles Times has earmarked Keaton for the trophy, thanks to his role in Birdman, and The Hollywood Reporter is confident Redmayne's turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything will make him an Oscars season favourite.
The Hollywood Reporter recently honoured Redmayne and his co-stars Felicity Jones and James Marsh with a Breakthrough in Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada and editors called the My Week With Marilyn star's performance "landmark".
Meanwhile, America's top critics have given Keaton the edge in the first serious odds list on awards season go-to website GoldDerby.com.
The former Batman is a 13/5 favourite, ahead of Steve Carell in Foxcatcher and Redmayne, while Spall and fellow Brit Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) also make the early top five.
GoldDerby's critics have given Amy Adams (Big Eyes) the Best Actress edge over fellow former Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon (Wild) and Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), while the Best Picture race is wide open.
The early top picks are Boyhood, Birdman, Angelina Jolie's upcoming biopic Unbroken, Foxcatcher, Gone Girl, Interstellar and Brad Pitt's Fury.